City community sad, disappointed to see Thanksgiving football game go

Jim Bransfield

Published
12:00 am EST, Sunday, February 10, 2013

Catherine Avalone/The Middletown Press
Mayor Dan Drew and Middletown Hall of Fame President Tom Serra present the city championship trophy to Xavier football coach Sean Marinan in 2012. Xavier won the final game with Middletown on Thanksgiving, 41-14. less

Catherine Avalone/The Middletown Press
Mayor Dan Drew and Middletown Hall of Fame President Tom Serra present the city championship trophy to Xavier football coach Sean Marinan in 2012. Xavier won the final ... more

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Catherine Avalone/The Middletown Press
Mayor Dan Drew and Middletown Hall of Fame President Tom Serra present the city championship trophy to Xavier football coach Sean Marinan in 2012. Xavier won the final game with Middletown on Thanksgiving, 41-14. less

Catherine Avalone/The Middletown Press
Mayor Dan Drew and Middletown Hall of Fame President Tom Serra present the city championship trophy to Xavier football coach Sean Marinan in 2012. Xavier won the final ... more

City community sad, disappointed to see Thanksgiving football game go

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MIDDLETOWN -- Reaction to the cancelation of the Middletown-Xavier Thanksgiving Day football game has been widespread and varied. Many lament the ending of what Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce President and former Xavier football coach Larry McHugh called a community event.

"This was a decision made by the schools," said McHugh. "But it was a real community event that drew 5,000 to 6,000 people. It gave people an opportunity to meet alumni and friends. It was a great situation. It's always disappointing anytime you lose that kind of event in the community. People look forward to it every year. Sad thing is there are fewer and fewer of these types of community events.

"But I understand it. I've gotten a lot of reaction to it and while people are disappointed, many of them understand. It's too bad."

Former Mayor and Democratic Council majority leader Thomas Serra, who was aware of the discussions leading up to the decision, had a similar reaction.

"On the one hand, what the athletic directors said is viable," said Serra. "Both want to go their separate ways. As a sportsman, and as an educator [Serra was a long-time principal of Vinal Technical High School] I understand.

"But as a community leader, it's disappointing. To have no city rivalry football game is disappointing."

Theodore Raczka, former chair of the Middletown Board of Education, was clear in his opposition to the decision.

"The athletic directors are being a little short-sighted," he said. "I'm disappointed. Look at the attendance for this game. Fact is Xavier is on a roll right now; what they've done is an anomaly. What the schools are doing is a mistake.

"Look, when is the last time Wesleyan beat Amherst? They don't stop playing. When does Guilford ever beat Hand? But they still play at Thanksgiving time. I think we're getting a little crazy when it comes to sports. We are playing for state championships and in the process, giving up an event that draws 6,000 people every year. For what? To play in a state title game once a decade in front of 2,500 people? That's what the Class L title game drew.

"We've gotten to the point where ESPN puts on an hours-long TV program on national signing day. All of that bothers me. Neither AD said the game was called off for competitive reasons. I could understand if one team was at risk of being hurt, but that's not the case. We are engaged in a petty hunt for state championships and glory and putting that ahead of community and what high school sports are all about.

"After the Middletown vs. Wilson game, we never really replaced it. Community values should be put first. Not to do that is a mistake."

Former Mayor Paul Gionfriddo tried to get the two schools to play during his tenure.

"So Middletown thinks East Lyme is a bigger rival and Xavier would rather play Staples," he said in an email. "When I was mayor, getting Xavier and Middletown to even think about playing this game -- even for charity (and the community really could have used a boost in those days) -- was like talking to two brick walls. Too bad the schools couldn't ever see the bigger picture here.

"I am sorry to hear the schools decided not to play."

Middletown High School Principal Colleen Weiner said: "I am in agreement with the ADs on this. We have to do what's right for the all the kids at both schools. It's a new era for both teams and is kind of exciting. It did not have to do with the outcome of the games, but with what's right for all our kids."

Both coaches were careful in their remarks.

"The decision is something that has been talked about for a while," said Xavier coach Sean Marinan. "I hate to see it go, but each school had reasons to both stop the game and to keep playing it. There are good things and bad things.

"From our point of view, there is the power point question and playing Thursday morning was an issue for us as we're used to playing at night. The good things were the crowd, that is was a local community event and that our alumni always came back."

Marinan's power points for postseason play are awarded for victories and for the number of victories a defeated opponent has. A Class LL team like Xavier gets 90 points for beating a Class L team like Middletown, while it gets 100 points for beating an LL team or league opponent. A team gets 10 points for each win, then an additional 10 points for each win its opponent had. Since Middletown had eight wins this season, Xavier got 90 points for the win plus 80 points for MHS wins (a total of 170 points). That was the third highest point total earned by Xavier all season, except for its wins over Hillhouse and West Haven with 180 points each, thus the win improved Xavier's postseason seeding.

"I understand from a community point of view some people will be disappointed," said MHS coach Sal Morello. "I was hired at MHS to worry about my football players, not just to play Xavier, but to prepare for every game on the schedule. My focus is the kids at Middletown High. I wish Xavier the best, but my focus is here.

"The perception might be that we dropped them, but it was a mutual decision. Our schedule is full of Class L and LL teams and it's going to stay that way. My job is to get my team ready to play whomever we play. They are going their own way. It's not us saying that we don't want to play them."

Would the game continued if the outcome was closer?

"I don't know if it would have been called off if it was close," said Morello. "But it wasn't."